Fix problems that cause images to not show

This article explains how to fix problems with images on websites, such as PNG, GIF, and JPG still images, as well as animated file formats such as animated GIF. If you are experiencing difficulty downloading or viewing images in Firefox, follow the troubleshooting instructions below.

Clear cookies and cache

Sometimes problems loading websites can be fixed by clearing the cookies and cache.

  1. Click the menu button Fx89menuButton to open the menu panel.
  2. Click History and select Clear Recent History…
  3. In the Time Range to clear: drop-down, select Everything.
  4. Below the drop-down menu, select both Cookies and Cache. Make sure other items you want to keep are not selected.
  5. Click OKClear Now.

Security software

Some Internet security software (including antivirus and anti-spyware programs, firewalls, privacy programs, and others) may identify and block certain images as web bugs or may prevent images from animating. Check the settings for your Internet security program to make sure it allows images to load.

Web accelerator software

If images on websites load, but don't look right (or don't look the way they do in other browsers), and you are using any sort of web accelerator software, disable it and see if images load properly. For more information, see the documentation that came with the software.

Extensions

Extensions are add-ons that add or modify Firefox features. See the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article for instructions on how to disable or uninstall extensions that may cause images not to load in Firefox.

Settings modification

You may have modified one of your Firefox preference settings which is causing images not to show. You can reset all preferences or try the following:

Warning: Changing advanced preferences can affect Firefox's stability and security. This is recommended for advanced users only.

  1. Type about:config in the address bar and press EnterReturn.
    A warning page may appear. Click Accept the Risk and Continue to go to the about:config page.
  2. Enter browser.display.document_color_use to the Search box. The preference's value should be set to 01 by default.
  3. Click the Reset Fx71aboutconfig-ResetButton button if its value is other than 01.

Some other reasons for problems with images

  • The site that displays the images may be down or experiencing difficulties. To verify, try loading the site from a different computer or browser.
  • Some pathnames to images contain backslashes (e.g. example.com\MyImage.jpg). In browsers other than Internet Explorer, these pathnames do not load. If you see that the image's URL contains a backslash, contact the site's webmaster about the issue.
  • If the image area shows text or some form of gibberish, it's most likely caused by a misconfigured web server. Contact the website and tell them about the problem.

I'm still having problems!

If you have tried all of the solutions in this article and none of the reasons above apply, then try these solutions:

Related links




Based on information from Images or animations do not load (mozillaZine KB)

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